Boom Chicago, Level 2
Warm Up | |
Shake Out | Together in rhythm the group extends and shakes out their limbs. Start with 8 shakes of the right arm, left arm, right leg, then left leg; then 4, then 2, then 1. Count the shakes as you do them and on completion the players let out a loud, animal yell. The rhythm is quick. The whole thing should take about 20 seconds. |
Circuits (with names) | The group stands in a circle. The first person points to some other person in the circle and announces their own name, continuing to hold their pointing position until the end of the round. The second person does the same toward someone new in the circle, and so does the third and so on until everyone is pointing at someone else, with the last person pointing at the first. This string of connections is a circuit. The players lower their arms and repeat the exact same sequence of events as the first round, each person pointing toward the same person they pointed to before. The idea at this point is for the group to build a memory of the circuit. Repeat the circuit a third time, but players should no longer hold the pointing position. At this point the circuit can be looped indefinitely. Keep looping through the circuit until everyone has it committed to memory. Now start a second circuit, with each person choosing a different person to point to and announcing the name of that person rather than their own. Repeat the process of committing to memory. Finally, start the first circuit, and then start the second circuit so that the group is looping through both circuits simultaneously. The focus is on not allowing either of the circuits to drop, which takes some concentration and continual awareness. |
Extreme Agreement Exercises | |
Sentence-by-sentence storytelling | The group pairs up. The group leader provides a prompt and the pairs tell a story together, inspired by the prompt, by adding one sentence(ish) each in turn. Each sentence (except the first) should begin with an explicit “Yes, and…”. |
Storytelling Circle (with explicit yes and) | The group stands in a circle. The first person begins a story with a sentence (or a couple of short sentences). Each person in turn adds their own sentence to the story, and the story must be brought to a conclusion at the last person in the circle such that each person contributes once and only once to the story. The really important thing is that each person must say an enthusiastic “Yes, and…” at the start of their contribution. Focus: Really listen to the previous contribution and build on it. |
Two person scenes with mirroring | Play out two person scenes of 2-4 minutes. Provide a prompt of something that two people do together. The instruction given to the players is to focus on mirroring their partner. That can be interpreted in many ways: mood, words, action, emotion etc. |
Break | |
Scenes | |
Two person scenes | Play out two person scenes of 2-4 minutes. Provide a prompt of a location, occupation, mutual interest etc. |
Close | |
Compliment Circle | The group stands in a circle. Each person in turn turns to the person next to them and says one nice thing about something that person did during the session. Once the compliment is delivered, the compliment receiver can say “thank you”, and everybody claps once together. Go round the circle once, skipping over the group leader. |
Warm Up | |
Circuits (with names) | As session 1 |
Bunny Bunny | The group stands in a circle and chants “mmm - bah - mmm - bah …” together in rhythm, adding a backbeat by clapping hands to thighs on the “bah”. This will crouch you down slightly. Keeping the rhythm the first person stands up and makes a sort of air quotes gesture with their index and middle fingers while saying “bunny, bunny. Bunny, bunny”. On the first “bunny, bunny” the gesture is aimed toward their own face. On the second “bunny, bunny” the gesture is aimed at another person in the group, who picks up the action with their own “bunny, bunny. Bunny, bunny” on the next beat. Once a player has passed the “bunny, bunny” they rejoin the general “mmm bah” rhythm. Players should make it obvious who the bunny is being passed to using eye contact and gesture. Once the group has this down, the two people on either side of the bunny turn in towards that person, wave back and forth chanting “ticky, tocky. Ticky, tocky” in time with the “bunny bunny”. Once the group has “ticky, tocky” down, the next neighbors join in, making a “squawk!” on the downbeat (the “mmm”), opening their hands into the air in time. The group should make sure the tempo keeps stable, and increases to a quick tempo. You should be able to get the bunny passing round quite rapidly with good energy. Make sure the “bunny” is the focal character (the loudest and most prominent) of the bunny-tocky-squawky group. |
Emotion Exercises | |
Breaking News Layup Lines | The group splits into two lines leading to the stage. One line is given the role of news breakers, the other line is given the role of news receivers. The person at the front of each line takes the stage so that there is one news breaker and one news receiver on stage. The news breaker simply breaks a piece of news to the news receiver. The news receiver plays an emotional response to the news. The receiver is encouraged to keep that emotional reaction going for several (10) seconds before considering justifying the response verbally. The players join the back of the opposite layup line, so that the news giver will become a news receiver and vice-versa. |
Two Person Scenes With A Silent Start | Play out two person scenes one at a time. The players are given a suggestion of an activity they are doing together, and asked to each choose an emotion that they will play through the scene. There’s no need to divulge what the emotion is. At the start of the scene the players use object and space work to perform the activity in silence until the coach gives them the cue to speak. This can be up to a minute. Once they receive the cue one of the players begins the scene’s dialogue with the line, “I just can’t help but think…”. None of the dialogue should refer to the activity the characters are performing. |
Break | |
Scenes | |
Two Person Scenes With Given Emotions | Collect a lot of emotion suggestions from the group. Play out two person scenes of 2-4 minutes. Before each scene, give the players specific emotions from the set of suggestions that they should adopt for the whole scene. The coach can choose to make these the same emotion for both players, somewhat different emotions, or completely opposite emotions. The coach can choose which player should have which emotion or they can leave it open. |
Close | |
Compliment Circle | As session 1 |
Warm Up | |
Zip, zap, zop | The group stands in a circle. The first person selects another person in the circle and gestures towards them, clearly passing the action over to them with the utterance “Zip!”. The receiving person does the same, but the utterance this time is “Zap!”. The third person uses “Zop!”, the fourth goes back to “Zip!” and so on. You should be able to build up a quick rhythm of “Zip! Zap! Zop! Zip! Zap! Zop! Zip! …” bouncing around the circle. |
Zip, zap, zop (with layers) | Add a second layer by having the first person simultaneously send their “Zip” to two different players. Those players then continue on “Zap” as above. It’s easier to keep the rhythm in sync, so that both players say their utterance (and pass the action) simultaneously. If someone receives the action from two directions, they should send it out in two directions to keep both layers in play. |
Relationship Exercises | |
Scenes with only names | Form layup lines to play out very short (< 1min) two-person scenes in which the only words that each character is allowed to speak is the name of the other character. Other verbal utterances/noises should also be avoided. The first line from each character is going to be endowing the other with their name. Players should focus on building a solid understanding of the relationship between the two characters; to do this they will need to put emotional expression into their vocal inflections and their physicality. |
Scenes with only “I…” and “You…” statements | Form layup lines to play out very short (< 1min) two-person scenes in which every statement has to begin with the word “I”, or the word “you”. Each statement should provide more information about the relationship so that a clear understanding of the relationship is built up quickly. Discuss in the group the relative effects of using “I …” statements and “You …” statements. |
Break | |
Scenes | |
Two-person scenes with prompts (“confession” / “history” / “endowment”) | Play out 2-4 minute two-person scenes from simple suggestions. At any point during the scene the coach can call out one of the three prompts: “confession”, “history”, or “endowment”. When prompted with “confession” one character must make a confession to the other. When prompted with “history” one of the characters must turn the dialogue to something about the shared history of the two characters; something like “this reminds me of the night we first met in Paris 10 years ago”. When prompted with “endowment”, one of the characters must endow the other with some property - probably using a “You…” statement. |
Open two-person scenes with relationship suggestions | Play out 2-4 minute two-person open scenes from suggestions of a particular relationship between the two characters. Something like “sisters”, “business partners”, or “left eye, and right eye”. |
Close | |
Compliment Circle | As session 1 |
Warm Up | |
Bunny Bunny | As session 2 |
Line Evolve | The group stands in a circle. The first person turns to the neighbor on their left or their right and performs a line of dialog. This second player watches and listens until the first person finishes, then turns to their neighbor in turn and performs the same line of dialog, attempting to mimic the first player as closely as possible. The third player turns to the next person and attempts to mimic the second player (ignoring anything the first player did). The fourth person mimics the third player and so on until the dialog has got all round the circle. |
Strong Belief Exercises | |
Hating a great gift | Form layup lines. One line is designated the givers and the other is designated the receivers. Players perform in pairs of one giver and one receiver. The giver acts out giving an objectively great gift to the receiver, being specific about what the gift is. For example, the giver may pass the receiver a briefcase and say, “here, I am giving you a million dollars”. The receiver responds, but their response must start with “How, dare you …” and their character must hate the gift. Try to amplify the emotion of hating the gift as far as it will go. |
Loving a bad gift | Form layup lines of givers and receivers as above. This time the giver gives the receiver an objectively bad gift, and the receiver’s response must begin with “Thank you so much …” and their character must love the gift. Try to amplify the emotion of loving the gift as far as it will go. |
Interrogation circle | The group sits in a circle. One player takes to the center of the circle and adopts a character who has a strong belief. The game starts by the center player announcing their belief. The other players popcorn follow up questions at them, attempting to learn more about their character. The central player should respond in character to each question, revealing more about their character. Note that this is about drawing the character, not necessarily about the details of their belief. |
Break | |
Scenes | |
Two-person filter scenes | Play out 2-4 minute scenes with a suggestion for a location. In addition, one of the characters holds a specific strong belief. The scenes should not focus on the belief, but that belief should be sprinkled throughout the scene in whatever the character does. (Is it that the belief is the filter through which the character sees, or is it that the scene is the filter through which the belief is expressed to the audience?)It may help initially if the coach decides who should adopt which belief. Once the group is familiar with the idea, the believers can adopt a belief of their own choosing without telling the audience what it is. Eventually both characters can adopt beliefs independently. |
Close | |
Compliment Circle | As session 1 |
Warm Up | |
Big Booty | The group stands in a circle. The leader is “Big Booty” and will start the game. The player to the left of Big Booty is number one, the next player number two and so on. All together the group chants with rhythm and sass, “Big booty, big booty / ahh yeaaah / Big booty” and Big Booty immediately follows with a quick, rhythmic “Big Booty, number ___”, adding the number of a position in the circle. The player with that number must follow on without missing a beat, saying their number then the next number they want to throw the action to. That player must continue without missing a beat. The start of a game might sound something like: All: Big booty, big booty / Ahh yeaaah / Big booty. Number Two: Number two, number six. Number Six: Number six, number one. …and so on. The rhythm should be quick enough that there is no time to think, but not so fast that articulating the words is a challenge. If anyone drops the rhythm at any time, they move to the last position (immediately to the right of Big Booty) and players move up one position to fill the gap they left. Note that when a player changes position, the number they have to respond to also changes, and it is up to each player to keep track of what their current number is. Once the group has the idea of the game, introduce the first competitive element. The aim being to get to and hold position one. Encourage the players to catch out people who are not expecting the action to be passed to them, and to especially target the numbers lower than themselves. The next element to introduce is that Big Booty is also a position. It is, in fact, the highest position. The action can be passed to Big Booty with something like “Number five, big booty”, but can also be passed to big booty by passing it to something that isn’t a position in the circle. For example, “Number two, number A”, would pass the action to Big Booty, as would “Number two, eight”, or, if there are only nine players, “Number two, number twelve”. The goal of the game then becomes to hold the position of Big Booty. |
Want Exercises | |
Response to a gesture | Form layup lines. One line is designated the initiators and the other is designated the responders. Players perform in pairs of one initiator and one responder. The initiator begins by performing some physical gesture. The responder responds by saying a line beginning with the words, “You want …”. Players are encouraged to state wants that go a bit deeper than the immediately obvious. That is to say it is not a game about the initiator miming a want that the responder guesses; it is a game about the responder endowing a want onto the initiator that adds to the initiator’s gesture. |
Short scenes with wants | Play 1-2 minute two-person scenes. During the scene the coach will call the name of each of the performers. As soon as their name is called, they must state a want with the words “I just want …”. The want needn’t be related to the scene; it can be quite random. The other character should have an emotional reaction to the want. The stated want should add a layer to the scene. |
Break | |
Scenes | |
Secret wants | Play 3-4 minute two-person scenes. One performer will be given a want for their character to have. The other performer should be sent out of the room while the group suggests the want so that when the scene begins, the second player has no idea what the first player’s character wants. The player with the want should imbue the scene with their want in a way similar to filter scenes (session 5). Players should be reminded that this is not a guessing game. The second player should listen to their partner as normal and clarify the scene as normal. |
Close | |
Compliment Circle | As session 1 |
Warm Up | |
Yes, let’s! | The group stands in a circle. The first person yells an activity, and performs a repeating action to go with it. For example “Let’s march on the spot!”, and begins marching on the spot. The rest of the group yells “Yes, let’s!” and joins in with high energy. When the moment seems right (a couple of seconds), the next person in the circle changes the action with their own “Let’s …”. |
Activity And Environment Exercises | |
Tadas with actions, speech, and response | Form lay up lines. One of the lines is A, and the other is B. One A player and one B player take the stage. A immediately starts performing some action. When B sees what A is doing, B joins in with a complementary (not the same) action. A then says the first line of dialogue, to which B responds emotionally. The players then turn to the audience and with jazz hands say “Tada!”. |
Scene painting | The group gathers around the stage. A suggestion is taken for a location. One at a time players go on stage and describe one thing in the location then leave the stage. Descriptions needn’t be merely technical; they can include opinion and inference. The things players add should build on the scene that has already been created. Keep going until everyone has added something to the room. |
Scenes | |
Scenes with action, complementary action and first line | Play short two-person scenes based on a word suggestion. One player should take the initiative and immediately start performing an action inspired by the suggestion. The second player should start performing a complementary action. Once the actions are established either of the characters can take the initiative and say the first line. |
Break | |
Scenes | |
Scenes with personal objects and relationships | Take suggestions from the group for objects that a person might hold in one hand. Give each player one of these objects, which their character will hold and use throughout the scene. Play two person scenes with relationship suggestions. Encourage the players to explore different ways to interact with their object. See if it can give their character more definition. See if their character suggests ways to use the object. |
Scenes in a location | Play two-person scenes in a location. |
Close | |
Compliment Circle | As session 1 |
Warm Up | |
Three Person Scene Exercises | |
Chain conversation | Separate into groups of two or three. Each group will have a conversation among themselves. The constraint on the conversation is that each player may only make one statement each time they talk, and that statement must begin with the word that finished the previous statement. For example, with players Abby, Bill, and Cat: Abby: We have been having beautiful weather. Bill: Weather affects my mood so much. Cat: Much fuss is made about the effects of weather on mood, but I don’t believe it. Abby: It is a serious thing! Bill: Thing is we can’t know what other people experience. Abby: Experience can’t be measured so easily. Notice that the conversation is weird and stilted. That is fine. This is not a scene to be performed; all the groups work simultaneously so only the coach is watching and their attention is divided anyhow. The point is to force players to listen until the very end of each input before reacting, discouraging performers from coming up with their next thing while someone else is talking. |
I am a tree | The group forms a standing audience in front of a stage area. We played it in the round by standing in a circle, but it doesn’t have to be done that way. One player goes to the center of the stage, adopts the pose of a tree and says “I am a tree”. Another player joins in, adopting a pose and announcing themselves as something complementary to the first player. It could be “I am an apple”. A third player joins in also, adopting a pose and announcing themselves as something complementary to both the first player and the second player. In our example it could be “I am the wind in the orchard”, or “I am an apple picker”. The audience applauds, and the scene is now complete. Encourage everyone to keep joining in. Dissuade the tendency for the third person to do the thing they thought of when they only had the first prompt; the third player should complement both elements on stage, adding depth to the scene. |
Scenes | |
Three peas in a pod (one initiator) | These are very short (1 min max) three person scenes responding to a single word suggestion. One person takes the stage, and two others stand on either wing. The first person initiates the scene on their own, then each of the others join them, matching all their character’s qualities: their actions, their mood, the sort of things they are saying. This is extreme agreement between all three characters. |
Three peas in a pod (two initiators) | Similar to the above, but this time have two people on stage to initiate the scene together. Once the scene is established the third player joins in. These can play a little longer |
Two peas and a bean | These are short (1-2 min) three person scenes given a suggestion of an action. Two players begin the scene by performing the action together (and establishing character, relationship, emotion as usual). Meanwhile the third person stands in the wing. Once the scene is established, the third person joins the scene with a character that is complementary to (but not the same as), the existing characters. Have the players reflect on the balance of the scene between the three characters. Generally when a bean joins the peas the focus will immediately be on establishing the new character, then there will be a period where the bean will get 50% and the peas will get 50%, then the three characters settle down into an equal share of the scene. |
Break | |
Scenes | |
Three-person scenes | Open three person scenes. |
Close | |
Compliment Circle | As session 1 |
Warm Up | |
Zip, zap, zop | As session 3 |
Zip, zap, zop (with layers) | As session 3 |
Line evolve | As session 4 |
Silence Exercises | |
Gibberish and response | Form layup lines. One is designated initiators, the other is responders. An initiator and a responder take the stage. The initiator will initiate in gibberish (a made up language). The responder will respond to the initiation as if they understood completely. Focus on yes, and-ing the initiation to both label it and add on to it. After the initiation and the response the exercise is done, the audience applauds and the next two take the stage. |
Eye contact scenes | Play short (1-2 min) scenes with the suggestion of an event that people might attend together, or a location - something that suggests an environment. The restriction is that the players can only use utterances while the two characters are locked in eye contact; the moment that eye contact breaks even a little any verbalization has to immediately stop. Encourage players not to force too much eye contact; the point is to use the silence. |
Scenes | |
Restricted speech scenes | Play short (1-2 min) scenes with the suggestion of an event or location. The coach should assign each player with a number between 1 and 5. That is the maximum number of words the player is allowed to say in a row. Once they reach that maximum they cannot speak again until their scene partner has spoken. |
Break | |
Scenes | |
Open two and three person scenes | Play 2-4 min open scenes with two or three people. The coach provides a specific suggestion like “two wizards at a casino buffet”. |
Close | |
Coach Feedback Circle | The group stands in a circle, the coach gives (mostly positive) feedback to each person in turn based on their observations over the course of the level. After each feedback everyone claps together once in the same way as a compliment circle (see session 1). |
At the end of this level I notice that there are a few things that I have some difficulty with and would like to put some focus on working on deliberately:
I also have some questions about my behaviors that I am not sure about: